Category Archives: Show Time

Vol. 15, No. 13 – Mar 23 – Apr 5, 2022 – Movie Review

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
The Adam Project – Netflix

3 out of 4 palm trees
Breeze rating from 1 to 4 palm trees, 4 being best.

In The Adam Project, Adam Reed (Ryan Reynolds) is a time traveling fighter pilot from 2050 who accidentally lands in 2022 and has to elicit the help of his younger self, 12-year-old Adam (Walker Scobell) to discover what happened to his wife Laura (Zoe Saldana) who was also a pilot he was told died under what he believed to be mysterious circumstances.

While home alone, Young Adam’s dog Hawking alerted him that there was something in the shed. When Young Adam opened the door, he found a man in a flight suit sitting on the floor bleeding from his side while Hawking laid next to him. Young Adam followed the injured man went into the house to tend to the bullet wound on his side, and began to recognize that the man seemed to know things around the house and about him, including his name.

Young Adam noticed that the man was wearing the same watch given to him by his father who passed away and that they shared the same scar on their chin. He realized that the pilot was his future self, which immediately caused him to have a asthma attack. Adam grabbed the inhaler from Young Adam’s pocket and knew exactly what to do, which confirmed the facts even more.

While waiting at the house for his jet and his wound to heal, Adam and Young Adam were confronted by Maya Sorian (Catherine Keener), who was their dad’s original business partner and became head of the time travel division in the future, which Adam fled from when landing in 2022 instead of his intended 2018. Maya sent a team of future soldiers to capture Adam, but to his surprise Laura, who he had been told died, appeared from the woods and aided him in defeating a dozen cyber soldiers.

They all fled to where Laura had been living since 2018, and Laura explained to Adam that she had discovered that Maya had traveled back in time to alter the timeline and insure that she would be head of Sorian and control the time travel division in the future. Adam felt the only one who could help was his father Louis (Mark Ruffalo), who died in 2020, and knew he had to go back to 2018 to fix everything, but Laura had to stay in 2022 as only Adam’s DNA was coded to his jet.

Adam found his father Louis teaching on campus, who quickly accepted that he was his son in the future and both went to his lab to try to prevent the future Maya had altered. Younger Maya showed up at the lab with Maya, who threatened to shoot Young Adam if Adam didn’t give her the hard drive that ran his dad’s invention. Young Adam broke away as Maya fired and hit the core, sending the lab into meltdown and magnetically drawing all the metal, including the cyber soldiers, toward the core, and Maya became her own demise when she fired at Louis, but the magnetic core turned the bullet toward younger Maya and killed her, thus eliminating future Maya as well.

Adam and Young Adam wanted to tell their dad how he was going to die, but Louis refused to let them try to prevent his death as it could change the future fall all of them. Adam and Louis shared a tender goodbye, and all had a group hug before both Adams disappeared back to the future.

The constant witty banter between Reynolds and Scobell is thoroughly entertaining, and Ruffalo and Jennifer Garner (Adam’s mother) also offer strong supporting roles, especially when on the receiving end of Reynolds’ well-known style of wit that is shared seamlessly with Scobell.

Rated: PG-13 (Language|Violence/Action|Suggestive References)
Runtime: 1h 46m

Vol. 15, No. 12 – Mar 9 – Mar 22, 2022 – A View from House Seats

by Shirley Lorraine

Santa Paula Stages Full Experience
Theaters are reawakening with offerings that touch at our very souls. The current play at Santa Paula Theater Center, Thing I Know to be True, is one such play. A relatively new work, (2019), the play delves deeply into one family’s connections and disconnections in visually interesting ways.
Written by Andrew Bovell, Things I Know to be True is an exploration into those things in our lives that are revealed and those we try to keep secret that are somehow intuited by those close to us. It bares the struggles many families endure to sustain their emotional connections to each other and tests the limits of each member individually. It made me think – when is enough, enough? When do parents allow their progeny to make their own decisions, to lead their own lives, even when basic principles are at odds?

Directed by Santa Paula Theater Center’s new Artistic Director Jessi May Stevenson, the play evokes myriad emotions and reactions not only through the written words but is also beautifully accented by moments of movement that add a deeper level of meaning to the story. The subtle placement of a hand upon a shoulder, a glance, a distancing or simply standing still becomes integral to the depth of the action.

Fran and Bob Price (Sindy McKay and Richard Kuhlman) are a couple married over 40 years, whose four adult children are trying to cope with their own failures and are struggling with self-seeking while maintaining their family connections. Each worry over their particular struggles while mother and dad do their best to square their expectations with reality. Along the path there are many surprises leading each member of the family to cope (or not) with these revelations in varying ways, revealing their own fears, feelings, and disappointments.

To reveal much of the plot would be to minimize the experience for future audiences. This is a play which must be experienced fully. The creative and visually arresting setting by Mike Carnahan adds a great deal to the controlled, meaningful action. Carefully chosen music and lighting envelope the action for a complete, satisfying piece of theater.

Each of the daughters, played by Julie Fergus, Erin Hollander and Emily Redman Hall, and the one son, James James, all deliver solid and engaging performances. McKay and Kuhlman provide poignant, humorous and significant moments throughout, pulling everything together. All the actors are excellent. They are every family.

The play deals with perceptions, fear of change, desire to maintain status quo, how our choices affect others and inequalities of many kinds. It is life. You should go see it.

Masks and proof of vaccination are required to attend the performance, per current health department mandates.

The run of Things I Know to be True continues with performances Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. through April 3. Book online and choose your seats. www.santapaulatheatrecenter, [email protected] or (805) 525-4645. The Center is located at 125 S. 7th Street, downtown Santa Paula.

Vol. 15, No. 12 – Mar 9 – Mar 22, 2022 – Movie Review

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
Inventing Anna – Netflix

3 out of 4 palm trees
Breeze rating from 1 to 4 palm trees, 4 being best.

Inventing Anna is based on the true life of Anna Sororkin, aka “Fake German Heiress” Anna Delvey (Julia Garner) who scammed thouands of dollars in gourmet meal, luxury hotels and private jet flights. She posed as a socialite in an attempt to steal millions of dollars from multiple sources including big banks, financial advisors, hedge funds, law firms, real estate developers, philanthropists, galleries, art dealers, all of Fashion Week and half of New York society.

Anna claimed to have a family trust in Germany and gave numerous different reasons why she could not access her money like that she was not old enough to get the money yet or her father is controlling and cuts her off all the time. She also knowingly used bad credit cards, often agressively blaming the service or business, which caused others around her to conveniently step forward and take care of whatever financial issues arose.

Most of Anna’s fradulant activity centered around an exclusive private club she was trying to build she called the Anna Delvey Foundation (ADF). Anna’s vision was for ADF to be a private club and dynamic visual arts center, an exclusive with place for people with taste, a step beyond the VIP room, series of small cozy lounges with butlers, clubs within clubs, with a luxury hotel and three restaurants. She selected a historic New York building at 281 Park Ave. with 6 floors and 45,000 sqft, which with the $4 million a year lease and $35 million for renovations required a total investment of $40 million.

Vivian Kent (Anna Chlumsky) was a reporter for Manahattan Magazine who had been banished to the far corner of the office known as Scriberia with three other long time reporters: Maud, Lou and Barry who all supported each other. Vivian defied her editor and jumped on Anna’s case after reading the enditment and learning that Anna had been extridicted from LA to New York.

Anna was denied bail and remanded to Riker’s Island until trial, so Vivian wrote a letter to Anna and asked to visit her to share her story. Anna called and agreed, though wasn’t willing to give up very much information, implying it would take Vivivian multiple visits to get the whole story. In the meantime, Maud Lou and Barry searched through Anna’s instagram to develop a timeline of her actions and find other people that Vivian to interview that knew or were close to Anna.

In November 2017, the Manahattan District Attorney’s Office announced the New York Supreme Court indictment of Anna Sorokin, alias Delvey, with two counts of attempted grand larceny in the first degree (one guilty verdict), three counts of grand larceny in the second degree (two guilty verdicts), one count of grand larceny third degree (guilty), and theft of services (guilty).

Anna Sorokin was a clever 26 year old white collar criminal who conned Manhattan’s “glitterati” leaving egg on faces of some the the biggest players from the art world, real-estate, fashion and Wall Street. It’s unclear as to the total number of vicitms she left in her wake as many were too embarrassed to come forward and press charges, like Nora Radcliff, who Anna had solen over $400,000 in fraudulant credit card purchases to fund Anna’s luxury wardrobe and lifestyle.

Runtime: 9 – 1hr episodes

Vol. 15, No. 11 – Feb 23 – Mar 8, 2022 – Movie Review

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
The Tinder Swindler – Netflix Documentary

4 out of 4 palm trees

The Tinder Swindler is a British true crime documentary about Israeli conman Simon Leviev who used the Tinder dating app posing as the son of wealthy billionaire Lev Leviev to manipulate hundreds of women emotionally into giving him what totaled millions of dollars. The documentary centers around the experiences of three women; Cecilie Fjellhoy, Pernilla Sjoholm and Ayleen Charlotte, who all lived in different places around the world.

In his many online accounts, Simon had pictures of him traveling on private jets, sailing, business meetings, beaches, cool cars and amazing parties all over the world. Posing as CEO of LLD Diamonds (his so-called family business), Simon had photos on his social media accounts showing him pictured on family vacation with Lev Leviev (who was known as the king of diamonds) and his wife. Though Lev Leviev was the actual owner of LLD Diamonds, he had no relationship to Simon who was later found to have faked the family photos.

Cecilie Fjellhoy dreamed since childhood of finding a prince charming, and Simon immediately swept her off her feet by sweeping her away in a private jet to Bulgaria after meeting him for the first time over coffee. Cecilie had never been on a private jet, and Simon would arrange private flights several more times for Cecilie to meet him while he was traveling. Simon told those he dated that due to his families wealth and influence, there were people after him which necessitated him always traveling with his friend and bodyguard Peter.

While away, Simon reached out to Cecilie saying that Peter had been attacked while protecting Simon and he was having trouble with his credit cards and needed her help, even sending photos of them in an ambulance with a large cut on Peter’s head. Cecilie provided Simon with a platinum AMEX and also asked her to take out a personal loan and bring 25,000 in cash to him in Amsterdam, which she did. Eventually Simon asked her to move in with him and gave her a budget to find them a apartment together.

Pernilla Sjoholm also met Simon on Tinder, and began traveling and partying together, not really finding a romantic connection but both enjoyed the luxury lifestyle. A short time later, Simon began dating a woman named Paulina and all three of them spent time traveling together to various expensive and exotic locations. Simon ultimately conned Cecilie out of $250,000 incrementally that was used while he was traveling and partying with Pernilla and Pauline.

Ayleen Charlotte had been dating Simon for 14 months when she saw the VG article online with Cecilie and Pernilla titled “The Tinder Swindler” and immediately questioned Simon as she too was looking for a home to share with Simon. Ayleen compared the videos and texts she got from Simon to those posted online and they were identical. Simon was reported to the police in at least seven different countries, but was difficult to catch as he was traveling so often, so Cecilie and Pernilla outed him on dozens of news outlets and podcasts, basically anyone who would listen.

It was discovered that it was a Ponzi scheme where Simon was using the money he was squeezing out of his last victim to pay for the luxury travel and lifestyle he was sharing with his current victim. Simon used the same texts, photos and videos in sequence like a formula to gradually con each woman he met online. Ayleen was able to help authorities capture Simon in Isreal, but he only served 5 months and is out now somehow again living in luxury.

Runtime: 1h 54m

Vol. 15, No. 10 – Feb 9 – Feb 22, 2022 – A View from House Seats

by Shirley Lorraine

Hi-Jinx on High Street with Matilda

It is a multi-award winner. It was Best New Musical in 2012. It is high energy, high camp and filled with talent. The production is Matilda, the Musical, based on the 1988 book by Roald Dahl, perhaps best known for Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Moorpark’s High Street Arts Center has compiled an extensive cast of characters from kids to, well, not kids, all of them eager to share the eccentricities of Dahl’s imagination.

It is an extremely ambitious undertaking. Kudos to director Tami Keaton and the multitude of crew members who make the magic happen. And yes, there are some truly magical moments throughout.

Not familiar with the story? It centers around Matilda (dual cast with Noelle Gibson and Bridget Hunzeker), a young girl who is saddled with a set of n’er do well parents, a lazy brother, and no encouragement to become educated. She reads. This angers her mother and father, who clearly think reading is a waste of time.

They ship Matilda off to a boarding school led by a particularly unpleasant headmistress (played with cartoonish relish by Sean Burns) who enjoys beleaguering the young in her care. Despite efforts to add a touch of empathy to the daily rigor, teacher Miss Honey (Kristina Reyes) befriends Matilda, recognizing her special talents, and things begin to change for the better.

The action is rapid-fire, nearly frantic at times, and spiced with complicated choreography to maintain the very large cast moving so that the stage is fully utilized. Numerous cast members play several roles, switching from speaking parts to ensemble and back with ease.

Matilda’s parents, Mr. & Mrs. Wormwood, are played by Megan Razor and Michael Rosenblum to the hilt. They, too, are caricatures of their characters and fascinating to watch as they are clearly approaching the very limits of hamming it up, to the audience’s delight. They are not likeable people, but the portrayals are a hoot. PC the play is not.

Opening night featured Noelle Gibson in the pivotal role of Matilda. She was on fire and delivered a solid, sterling performance. Backed up by a bevy of talented up-and-comers, Gibson easily held the leading position.

The story has numerous quite dark moments. My 10-year-old niece (my evening’s “date”) shared that she “liked most of it, but some of the parts were scary”. Indeed, they are, and unpleasant, but well managed. She did enjoy the high-camp, cartoony overall shading of the show.

High Street productions consistently deliver high quality theatrical experiences. Their commitment to bringing lesser done works to the stage and encouraging actors of all ages is laudable.

Matilda, the Musical continues its run through February 27 with performances at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Matinees on Sundays. Seating is pre-arranged and reservations are required. Come prepared to show proof of vaccination of a negative Covid result and wear your mask. All details are available on their website www.highstreetartscenter.com. 805-529-8700.

 

 

Vol. 15, No. 10 – Feb 9 – Feb 22, 2022 – Movie Review

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
As We See It – Amazon Original Series

4 out of 4 palm trees

As We See It follows the lives of three 20 something roommates on the autism spectrum, Jack, Harrison and Violet, as they work to gain the skills to lead independent lives through the assistance of their life coach Mandy. The three live in an apartment together where they have daily check-ins with Mandy to celebrate accomplishments and set goals. Each of them has a different type of autism diagnoses, and Mandy guides them with patience and empathy for the challenges they encounter trying to be “normal” like the rest of the world.

Harrison (Albert Rutecki) is socially disconnected and does not like to ever venture out of the apartment due to his fear of noises, strange people, dogs, …most things. He’s overweight, most likely due to the fact that he spends his days watching games shows on TV in the apartment and has a huge appetite for sweets. He comes from a wealthy, supportive family and has the social mentality of an adolescent, which made his 10 year old neighbor from upstairs AJ the perfect friend and playmate. AJ was young but had some good street smarts, which lead to he and Harrison getting into trouble on several occasions, Harrison being the one that just followed along.

Jack (Rick Glassman) has Asperger’s Syndrome, is a mild form of high-functioning autism more common in males than in females. While quite intelligent, he has no filter which often has him misunderstood and offending others frequently. He does not like being touched and is very detached emotionally, though he is very aware of this fact, and many of his goals revolve around connecting to people as his condition makes social interactions difficult. As an example of this dynamic, he works as a computer programmer, and and when asked at work to change some things with a program he wrote, he said it was asinine and told his boss he had inferior intelligence which got him temporarily fired. Jack is close with his dad Lou (Joe Mantegna) who had just been diagnosed with cancer and concerned he’ll die before his son finds independence.

Violet (Sue Ann Pien) is a 25 year old virgin whose sole motivation in life is to have sex, preparing for it by reading Cosmo, watching videos, learning from other sources online and from co-workers at Arby’s where she worked at the counter until she hit on a married man in front of his wife and was demoted to sandwich maker. She constantly uses profane language and regularly blurts out she just needs someone to f***, having no filter like Jack, especially when it comes to talking about sex. Her brother Van (Chris Pang) became her caretaker after their parents died, and is trying to not let his sister’s issues blowup his relationship with his girlfriend Selena, which has happened every other time in his past relationships.

Mandy (Sosie Bacon) is a life coach who educates them about the world and helps them to navigate it. Her patience and tolerance seems boundless, and is never reactionary, rather extremely calm when dealing with the variety of issues that arise coach all three in the same environment. They all trust her implicitly and generally follow her advise or instructions. Mandy wanted to work in the medical field doing autism research, but didn’t pass her MCAT entrance exam, and has a boyfriend named Joel who is trying to persuade her to join him in Berkeley for an internship at USF, but she feels torn about leaving Jack, Harrison and Violet behind.

As We See It is a very warmhearted, compassionate glimpse into the lives of those living on the autism spectrum and Mandy’s role as life coach shares some impressive coping skills that can be applied to many everyday situations with people from any walk of life.

Rated TV-16+ 8 – 35min Episodes

Vol. 15, No. 09 – Jan 26 – Feb 8, 2022 – A View from House Seats

by Shirley Lorraine

Ojai Stage Fills with Layers of Life

Isn’t it frustrating when something (or someone) comes along to throw a proverbial wrench into your nice, quiet, predictable life? Suddenly your world is in chaos, and no one seems to know how to cope with the smallest things.

Such is the premise presented in Christopher Durang’s 2013 Tony-winning Best Play, Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike now playing at the Ojai Art Center Theater.

Siblings Vanya (Peter Schreiner) and adopted sister Sonia (Laurie Walters) have been living in the family home they grew up in, after both of their parents have passed on. Mom and Dad were both college professors, so they named their children after characters from the works of Anton Chekhov. Vanya and Sonia stayed on, each bemoaning the life they allowed to pass them by. Each feels unfulfilled but reluctant to leave the comfort of their routines.

The action that follows has been described as “Chekhov in a blender” by director Taylor Kasch. Vanya and Sonia’s world implodes as older sister Masha (Tracey Williams Sutton), now a successful stage and movie actor, arrives at the ancestral home to announce plans to sell the property. She brings with her Spike (James James), a young, studly actor clearly beneath her station. Together they shake up the staid existence led by Vanya and Sonia, leading to a series of emotional Strum und Drang monologues.

The two siblings’ completely relatable relationship of I-love-you, I-hate-you resonates loudly as the play rises to a crescendo. Along the way, Boomers and beyond enjoy numerous references to “the good old days” of our youth. There was a plethora of knowing nods in the audience on opening night.

In the direct center of the swirling emotional storm enters Cassandra (Cynthia Killion), the occasional maid and full-time wacko whose psychic pronouncements are a portent of things to come. Seemingly random utterings drift into realizations that become meaningful to the others as events unfold.

A sweet, naïve, girl visiting next door named Nina (newcomer Beltane Howden) becomes part of the character mix, adding to the layers of emotions the family experiences. An aspiring actress herself, Nina is enthralled by Vanya’s play writing skills, eagerly participating in a “reading” that quickly evolves into a tirade by Vanya about the public’s current lack of shared experiences.

There are many layers to this piece that seem to build from the very depths of each character’s soul. The situations are, at the core, recognizable, relatable and highly amusing. The actors are fascinating to watch as they embody not only the characters on the surface, but also the “everyman” quality of each one individually and as unit. The performances are mesmerizing.

It is always a joy to watch actors enjoy attacking their roles with abandon. Director Kasch has assembled a tight ensemble for our enjoyment.

VSMS runs Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through February 13. Socially distanced seating is assigned, and masks are required. Some strong language.

Vol. 15, No. 09 – Jan 26 – Feb 8, 2022 – Movie Review

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
Yellowjackets – Showtime Original Series

4 out of 4 palm trees

In Yellowjackets, an extremely talented high school girls soccer team is involved in a plane crash in the Ontario wilderness on their way to nationals after having won their state championship. They survived on their own for 19 months until they were rescued, and some never made it home due to the accident and incidents that happened along the way including cannibalism (I don’t consider this a spoiler as it is actually the opening scene in the first episode, though presents questions regarding who was involved and who became a meal for the team).

The crash happened in 1996, and picks up on the lives of several key players 25 years later in 2021 as they attempt to put the past behind them and try to lead normal adults lives promising to keep what happened in the woods only between them regardless of the public’s relentless pursuit to find out the truth. The story bounces back and forth between to the two timelines as viewers discover the terrible challenges they experienced to survive and how it forever changed their lives.

Teen Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) was team captain Jackie’s best friend and pregnant with Jackie’s boyfriend Jeff’s baby, which she discovered after the crash while in the woods. Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) ended up marrying Jeff after returning home and was living the life of a settled housewife, though very suspicious of her husband’s continual late nights at the office.

Teen Misty (Samantha Hanratty) was intelligent but socially awkward and a bit of an outcast with the team where she was assistant to the assistant coach. Though helpful with emergency medical knowledge to deal with the serous injuries that happened in the crash, she seemed to sabotage things to keep her new found role of importance in the group. Misty (Christina Ricci) worked in a nursing home, but had strange hobbies like being part of an online crime solving group and was repeatedly caught undermining some efforts with issues the group faced as adults.

Teen Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) turned to drugs, alcohol and sex to deal with her troubled home life and tragedies of the past. Nat was the rebel of the group, and started a romantic relationship with Travis that continued into their adult lives. Natalie (Juliette Lewis) just got out of one of her many trips to rehab and ended up connecting with Misty, who shared she had found Travis who unfortunately, apparently committed suicide right after Nat reached out to him, though Natalie was convinced he was murdered.

Teen Taissa (Jasmine Savoy Brown) was not the team captain, however was the leader of the team and was often first to try various rescue attempts, finding a lake so they would have water which also led them to an abandon cabin to use as shelter, though it had an unexplained dead body in the attic. Taissa (Tawny Cypress) went to college, then to law school and created a good life for her, her wife and son, though decided to run for state senate causing pressure on their relationship and triggering some negative things from the past related to her time in the woods.

Together they were working to solve who was blackmailing them and how did they learn about the secrets meant to be left in the woods. The teen actors are dead ringers for their adult counterparts, and each episode answers some questions while creating many others. The Season 1 finale left viewers anxious for Season 2, scheduled late fall/winter 2022, and was actually pitched for 5 seasons, which actor Melanie Lynskey (Shauna) has already signed on for, though producers didn’t commit to Season 2 until the middle of Season 1 after it gained traction.

Rated TV-MA 10 – 1hr Episodes

Vol. 15, No. 08 – Jan 12 – Jan 25, 2022 – Movie Review

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
Queenpins – Showtime

3 out of 4 palm trees
Breeze rating from 1 to 4 palm trees, 4 being best.

Queenpins is based on actual events involving one of the largest pink collar crimes known to date. Connie Kaminski (Kirsten Bell) and her best friend JoJo Johnson (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) both had overwhelming financial challenges, so decide to turn a causal hobby into a coupon scam that netted them millions of dollars. After discovering that manufacturers were willing to send FREE coupons for complaint letters, Connie came up with the idea to get FREE coupons to sell at a good deal and JoJo was a vlogger who already had a coupon site they could use to sell them.

Connie noticed that the coupons all came from the same address in Mexico, not far from where they were in Arizona, so the two set out to find a way to obtain more FREE coupons directly from the source. They met a Hispanic couple who worked in the factory for only $2 per hour and gladly joined Connie and JoJo for a percentage of the profits, agreeing to mail all the excess printed coupons that were supposed to be destroyed directly to Connie and JoJo in Arizona.

The rush of coupons caught the attention of many stores who reported the issue to the district loss specialist Ken Miller (Paul Walter Hauser), who after searching receipts for 11 days was able to find a shopper’s information from her credit card who told him she bought the coupons online from the SavvySuperSavver website. Miller took the information to the local FBI office, which blew him off after he left and sent the information to headquarters to get buried.

After bankning several hundred thousand dollars in their paypal account, Connie’s account was frozen. Feeling it was the only thing to do, they reached out to Tempe Tina (Bebe Rexha) who was actually the person who caused JoJo’s financial trouble after stealing her identity. Tina picked them up, blindfolded them and took them back to her tech hideout. Tina apologized for her past issues with JoJo explaining that now her specialty was Cyber Security, assisting governments and corporations to deal with cyber attacks, and if paid enough to create them.

Tina gave them multiple IDs and a strategy to handle their money for 10% of the profits, and Connie and JoJo decided to follow Tina’s plan to stay off the radar and not spend any funds for six months. While Miller continued making unanswered calls to FBI headquarters, Connie and JoJo made over $5 million mailing coupons, which became their downfall.

Due to the fact that the coupons were mailed, the U.S. Postal Service sent Postal Inspector Simon Kilmurry (Vince Vaughn) to investigate the situation. Kilmurry got the basics from Miller, who was more like a mall cop wanting to be part of the real action. Though Kilmurry denied him initially, they eventually teamed up on the investigation which eventually lead to a cartel size takedown that included millions in fraudulant coupons, luxury cars, and guns.

Queenpins is based on the true story of three Arizona women: Robin Ramirez, Marilyn Johnson, and Amiko Fountain, who ran a coupon scam and the actual police raid found more than $40 million in fake coupons along with $2 million in other assets including 22 guns, cash, 21 vehicles, and a speed boat. Ramirez received 24 months in prison with 7 years probation while her friends served 3 years probation. They also had to pay Procter & Gamble more than $1.2 million.

Rated: R (Language Throughout)
Runtime: 1h 50m

Vol. 15, No. 07 – Dec 29,2021 – Jan 11, 2022 – Movie Review

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
Don’t Look Up – Netflix

3 out of 4 palm trees
Breeze rating from 1 to 4 palm trees, 4 being best.

In Don’t Look Up, student astronomer Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence) discovered a 9 kilometer comet while working on her doctorate research. Initially seeming a cause for celebration, including the esteemed honor of having a newly discovered comet named after her, things changed when Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his student team decided to calculate how close it would come to earth. Unfortunately the math showed that it would actually impact earth in just over six month and destroy the entire planet.

After reporting the information to NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office head Dr. Teddy Oglethorpe (Rob Morgan) they were flown in a military plane to DC to meet with the president to explain the situation. They waited until late in the evening, watching what seemed to be trivial things get more attention than the literally earth shaking news they were there to share, and were eventually told they would have to wait until the next day.

After being put up in a hotel and waiting a entire second day, they finally met with President Orlean (Meryl Streep) who downplayed the situation as did her son and Chief of Staff Jason (Jonah Hill). Both belittled Dr. Mindy & Kate and sent them on their way saying “we’ll have our scientist assess the situation…” so hang tight and don’t say anything as it’s national security.

Feeling blown off, they shared the story with the New York Herald and on The Daily Rip, an upbeat morning show hosted by Brie (Cate Blanchett) and Jack (Tyler Perry), but again were not taken seriously. Then Dr. Mindy, Kate and Dr. Oglethorpe were all swooped up by FBI and brought to the White House where President Orlean said they confirmed the science and we’re ready to take any suggested steps, seeming to be done for popularity in the upcoming elections and to avoid some negative personal press. President Orlean then made a announcement to the world regarding the comet and plan to use shuttles with nukes to change the comet’s course.

All efforts were shifted to the president’s plan and the science seemed to indicate that there was a very good chance they would be successful, until crazy tech giant Peter Isherwell, the billionaire CEO of BASH and one of Orlean’s top donors, got President Orlean to abort the mission just after take off. Peter had an alternate plan to use developing tech to blow up the comet in space and mine it’s smaller pieces filled with precious minerals estimated to be worth $140 trillion.

Kate told some people the truth in a bar and though they listened, they panicked and started rioting. The FBI grabbed Kate again, and agreed to drop any charges in exchange for her silence. Propaganda campaigns were started to discredit them, saying things like the comet doesn’t even exist and it was all a hoax, but then the comet came into plain site. The scientists replied with “just look up” and the truth can be seen, which created chaos, so President Orlean’s response was a “don’t look up” campaign, saying it was scientists just trying to invoke fear in people.

Unknown to the world and due to the fact they were cut out of the comet mining deal, Russia, China and India teamed up to send a rocket to destroy the comet but the launch failed, leaving only the BASH plan by eccentric billionaire Peter to possibly save the planet. Will greed become mankind’s downfall? Can wealth be a ticket to immortality? These are some of the things revealed in this star-filled, entertaining parody of today’s world stage, headlines and political issues.

Rated: R (Language Throughout|Graphic Nudity|Drug Content|Some Sexual Content)
Runtime: 2h 18m